小豪子 Your friend is right. It's not recommended to offer a ride to strangers because of safety reasons. It's completely normal to say "no" in this kind of situations (they shouldn't have asked to begin with). There's a common rule on highways: Don't stop for anyone on the highways because of the unforeseen / potential danger. Saying no to these awkward requests doesn't make you a bad person. Even though we should always be nice and kind to people but we have to evaluate the potential risks and determine to what extent we should offer help. Stay safe everyone!